NTP Sues RIM, CLI Sues NTP … Duuh!

Om Malik

Jan. 18, 2005 - 1:32 PM PDT
Jan. 18, 2005 - 1:32 PM PDT

Well, NTP Inc., the patent holding company that sued Research in Motion, the Canadian company behind Blackberry devices for patent infringement has been sued by another company – Computer Leasco Inc (CLI) which claims it that NTP is infringing on its rights. According to court filings – 87 pages long – there was was a company called Telefind, which leased equipment from CLI but later defaulted on its obligations. As a result that CLI won the rights to Telefind’s patents and other intellectual property. But CLI claims it never got those patents, which instead were transfered to another company ESA Telecommunications, which was owned by Telefind’s patent attorney, Donald Stout and Telefind’s principal inventor Thomas Campana Jr. Campana and ESA then transfered the Intellectual property to NTP, which is owned by Stout and Campana. Its all very complicated. I know dinner time reading is going to be this document. Big question: why sue now? why now wait till RIM loses the cases? Too many questions – no answers! More on RIM versus NTP.